Journey Through Minor Prophets, Part 2

Letting Go and Trusting God

Back to School, Back to You

GRACE Abounds for the Spouse

Trusting God to Shape Your Story

Timothy Book Study - the Story

1 Samuel | Chapter Summaries + Study Questions

Journey Through Psalms & Song of Songs

2 Chronicles | Chapter Summaries + Study Questions

Battling Addiction

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

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 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="EZK.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">Ezekiel&#8217;s Inaugural Vision</div><div class="p"> 1In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.</div><div class="p"> 2On the fifth of the month&#8212;it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin&#8212; 3the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians.#1:3 Or Chaldeans There the hand of the Lord was on him.</div><div class="p"> 4I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north&#8212;an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, 6but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.</div><div class="p"> 10Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body. 12Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. 14The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.</div><div class="p"> 15As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 17As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. 18Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.</div><div class="p"> 19When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. 20Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.</div><div class="p"> 22Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. 23Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. 24When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty,#1:24 Hebrew Shaddai like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.</div><div class="p"> 25Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. 26Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.</div><div class="p">This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="EZK.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Ezekiel&#8217;s Call to Be a Prophet</div><div class="p"> 1He said to me, &#8220;Son of man,#2:1 The Hebrew phrase ben adam means human being. The phrase son of man is retained as a form of address here and throughout Ezekiel because of its possible association with &#8220;Son of Man&#8221; in the New Testament. stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.&#8221; 2As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.</div><div class="p"> 3He said: &#8220;Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says.&#8217; 5And whether they listen or fail to listen&#8212;for they are a rebellious people&#8212;they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people. 7You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. 8But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, 10which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="EZK.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="p"> 1And he said to me, &#8220;Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.&#8221; 2So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.</div><div class="p"> 3Then he said to me, &#8220;Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.&#8221; So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.</div><div class="p"> 4He then said to me: &#8220;Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. 5You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel&#8212; 6not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. 8But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10And he said to me, &#8220;Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. 11Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says,&#8217; whether they listen or fail to listen.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.#3:12 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text sound&#8212;may the glory of the Lord be praised from his place 13It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. 14The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord on me. 15I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days&#8212;deeply distressed.</div><div class="s1">Ezekiel&#8217;s Task as Watchman</div><div class="p"> 16At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 17&#8220;Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18When I say to a wicked person, &#8216;You will surely die,&#8217; and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for#3:18 Or in; also in verses 19 and 20 their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 21But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22The hand of the Lord was on me there, and he said to me, &#8220;Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.&#8221; 23So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.</div><div class="p"> 24Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: &#8220;Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. 26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people. 27But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says.&#8217; Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch4" data-usfm="EZK.4">
 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized</div><div class="p"> 1&#8220;Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. 3Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself.#4:4 Or upon your side You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. 5I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year. 7Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. 8I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. 10Weigh out twenty shekels#4:10 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 11Also measure out a sixth of a hin#4:11 That is, about 2/3 quart or about 0.6 liter of water and drink it at set times. 12Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.&#8221; 13The Lord said, &#8220;In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14Then I said, &#8220;Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;Very well,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16He then said to me: &#8220;Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair, 17for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of#4:17 Or away in their sin.</div>
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 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="EZK.5">
 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">God&#8217;s Razor of Judgment</div><div class="p"> 1&#8220;Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber&#8217;s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. 2When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword. 3But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment. 4Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even#5:7 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac You have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. 9Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. 10Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds. 11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. 12A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. 15You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the Lord have spoken. 16When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food. 17I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="EZK.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Doom for the Mountains of Israel</div><div class="p"> 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel; prophesy against them 3and say: &#8216;You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols. 5I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste and the high places demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols smashed and ruined, your incense altars broken down, and what you have made wiped out. 7Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. 9Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me&#8212;how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. 10And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out &#8220;Alas!&#8221; because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague. 12One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath on them. 13And they will know that I am the Lord, when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak&#8212;places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 14And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah#6:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts Riblah&#8212;wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="EZK.8">
 <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1">Idolatry in the Temple</div><div class="p"> 1In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there. 2I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man.#8:2 Or saw a fiery figure From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal. 3He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood. 4And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.</div><div class="p"> 5Then he said to me, &#8220;Son of man, look toward the north.&#8221; So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.</div><div class="p"> 6And he said to me, &#8220;Son of man, do you see what they are doing&#8212;the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. 8He said to me, &#8220;Son of man, now dig into the wall.&#8221; So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.</div><div class="p"> 9And he said to me, &#8220;Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.&#8221; 10So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. 11In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.</div><div class="p"> 12He said to me, &#8220;Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, &#8216;The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 13Again, he said, &#8220;You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz. 15He said to me, &#8220;Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.</div><div class="p"> 17He said to me, &#8220;Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually arouse my anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! 18Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch9" data-usfm="EZK.9">
 <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1">Judgment on the Idolaters</div><div class="p"> 1Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, &#8220;Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.&#8221; 2And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.</div><div class="p"> 3Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side 4and said to him, &#8220;Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5As I listened, he said to the others, &#8220;Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 6Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.&#8221; So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.</div><div class="p"> 7Then he said to them, &#8220;Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!&#8221; So they went out and began killing throughout the city. 8While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, &#8220;Alas, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9He answered me, &#8220;The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, &#8216;The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.&#8217; 10So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, &#8220;I have done as you commanded.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch10" data-usfm="EZK.10">
 <div class="label">10</div><div class="s1">God&#8217;s Glory Departs From the Temple</div><div class="p"> 1I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim. 2The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, &#8220;Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.&#8221; And as I watched, he went in.</div><div class="p"> 3Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. 4Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. 5The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty#10:5 Hebrew El-Shaddai when he speaks.</div><div class="p"> 6When the Lord commanded the man in linen, &#8220;Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,&#8221; the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. 8(Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)</div><div class="p"> 9I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz. 10As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about#10:11 Or aside as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13I heard the wheels being called &#8220;the whirling wheels.&#8221; 14Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.</div><div class="p"> 15Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. 16When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.</div><div class="p"> 18Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord&#8217;s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.</div><div class="p"> 20These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. 21Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands. 22Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.</div>
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 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch11" data-usfm="EZK.11">
 <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1">God&#8217;s Sure Judgment on Jerusalem</div><div class="p"> 1Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the Lord that faces east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. 2The Lord said to me, &#8220;Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city. 3They say, &#8216;Haven&#8217;t our houses been recently rebuilt? This city is a pot, and we are the meat in it.&#8217; 4Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and he told me to say: &#8220;This is what the Lord says: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind. 6You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it. 8You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. 9I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and inflict punishment on you. 10You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. 12And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, &#8220;Alas, Sovereign Lord! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Promise of Israel&#8217;s Return</div><div class="p"> 14The word of the Lord came to me: 15&#8220;Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, &#8216;They are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;Therefore say: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;Therefore say: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 18&#8220;They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. 19I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23The glory of the Lord went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it. 24The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia#11:24 Or Chaldea in the vision given by the Spirit of God.</div><div class="p">Then the vision I had seen went up from me, 25and I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="EZK.12">
 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">The Exile Symbolized</div><div class="p"> 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.</div><div class="p"> 3&#8220;Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people. 4During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile. 5While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it. 6Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the Israelites.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.</div><div class="p"> 8In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9&#8220;Son of man, did not the Israelites, that rebellious people, ask you, &#8216;What are you doing?&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;Say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there.&#8217; 11Say to them, &#8216;I am a sign to you.&#8217;</div><div class="p">&#8220;As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives.</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land. 13I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. 14I will scatter to the winds all those around him&#8212;his staff and all his troops&#8212;and I will pursue them with drawn sword.</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. 16But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17The word of the Lord came to me: 18&#8220;Son of man, tremble as you eat your food, and shudder in fear as you drink your water. 19Say to the people of the land: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there. 20The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">There Will Be No Delay</div><div class="p"> 21The word of the Lord came to me: 22&#8220;Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: &#8216;The days go by and every vision comes to nothing&#8217;? 23Say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.&#8217; Say to them, &#8216;The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled. 24For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel. 25But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious people, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 26The word of the Lord came to me: 27&#8220;Son of man, the Israelites are saying, &#8216;The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 28&#8220;Therefore say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="EZK.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">False Prophets Condemned</div><div class="p"> 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: &#8216;Hear the word of the Lord! 3This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish#13:3 Or wicked prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, &#8220;The Lord declares,&#8221; and expect him to fulfill their words. 7Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, &#8220;The Lord declares,&#8221; though I have not spoken?</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. 9My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Because they lead my people astray, saying, &#8220;Peace,&#8221; when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, 11therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, &#8220;Where is the whitewash you covered it with?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it#13:14 Or the city falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, &#8220;The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them 18and say, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own? 19You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds. 21I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 22Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives, 23therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch14" data-usfm="EZK.14">
 <div class="label">14</div><div class="s1">Idolaters Condemned</div><div class="p"> 1Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3&#8220;Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? 4Therefore speak to them and tell them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. 5I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;Therefore say to the people of Israel, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself. 8I will set my face against them and make them an example and a byword. I will remove them from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 10They will bear their guilt&#8212;the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him. 11Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jerusalem&#8217;s Judgment Inescapable</div><div class="p"> 12The word of the Lord came to me: 13&#8220;Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals, 14even if these three men&#8212;Noah, Daniel#14:14 Or Danel, a man of renown in ancient literature; also in verse 20 and Job&#8212;were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord.</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts, 16as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, &#8216;Let the sword pass throughout the land,&#8217; and I kill its people and their animals, 18as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.</div><div class="p"> 19&#8220;Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath on it through bloodshed, killing its people and their animals, 20as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.</div><div class="p"> 21&#8220;For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments&#8212;sword and famine and wild beasts and plague&#8212;to kill its men and their animals! 22Yet there will be some survivors&#8212;sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem&#8212;every disaster I have brought on it. 23You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch15" data-usfm="EZK.15">
 <div class="label">15</div><div class="s1">Jerusalem as a Useless Vine</div><div class="p"> 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? 3Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? 4And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? 5If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. 7I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord. 8I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch17" data-usfm="EZK.17">
 <div class="label">17</div><div class="s1">Two Eagles and a Vine</div><div class="p"> 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell it to the Israelites as a parable. 3Say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, 4he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water, 6and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.</div><div class="p"> 7&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water. 8It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;Say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots. 10It has been planted, but will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it&#8212;wither away in the plot where it grew?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12&#8220;Say to this rebellious people, &#8216;Do you not know what these things mean?&#8217; Say to them: &#8216;The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon. 13Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land, 14so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. 15But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, he shall die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke. 17Pharaoh with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives. 18He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.</div><div class="p"> 19&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant. 20I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there because he was unfaithful to me. 21All his choice troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken.</div><div class="p"> 22&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 24All the trees of the forest will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.</div><div class="p">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch18" data-usfm="EZK.18">
 <div class="label">18</div><div class="s1">The One Who Sins Will Die</div><div class="p"> 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The parents eat sour grapes,</div><div class="q2">and the children&#8217;s teeth are set on edge&#8217;?</div><div class="p"> 3&#8220;As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child&#8212;both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.</div><div class="q1"> 5&#8220;Suppose there is a righteous man</div><div class="q2">who does what is just and right.</div><div class="q1"> 6He does not eat at the mountain shrines</div><div class="q2">or look to the idols of Israel.</div><div class="q1">He does not defile his neighbor&#8217;s wife</div><div class="q2">or have sexual relations with a woman during her period.</div><div class="q1"> 7He does not oppress anyone,</div><div class="q2">but returns what he took in pledge for a loan.</div><div class="q1">He does not commit robbery</div><div class="q2">but gives his food to the hungry</div><div class="q2">and provides clothing for the naked.</div><div class="q1"> 8He does not lend to them at interest</div><div class="q2">or take a profit from them.</div><div class="q1">He withholds his hand from doing wrong</div><div class="q2">and judges fairly between two parties.</div><div class="q1"> 9He follows my decrees</div><div class="q2">and faithfully keeps my laws.</div><div class="q1">That man is righteous;</div><div class="q2">he will surely live,</div><div class="q4">declares the Sovereign Lord.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things#18:10 Or things to a brother 11(though the father has done none of them):</div><div class="q1">&#8220;He eats at the mountain shrines.</div><div class="q1">He defiles his neighbor&#8217;s wife.</div><div class="q1"> 12He oppresses the poor and needy.</div><div class="q1">He commits robbery.</div><div class="q1">He does not return what he took in pledge.</div><div class="q1">He looks to the idols.</div><div class="q1">He does detestable things.</div><div class="q1"> 13He lends at interest and takes a profit.</div><div class="m">Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:</div><div class="q1"> 15&#8220;He does not eat at the mountain shrines</div><div class="q2">or look to the idols of Israel.</div><div class="q1">He does not defile his neighbor&#8217;s wife.</div><div class="q1"> 16He does not oppress anyone</div><div class="q2">or require a pledge for a loan.</div><div class="q1">He does not commit robbery</div><div class="q2">but gives his food to the hungry</div><div class="q2">and provides clothing for the naked.</div><div class="q1"> 17He withholds his hand from mistreating the poor</div><div class="q2">and takes no interest or profit from them.</div><div class="q1">He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.</div><div class="m">He will not die for his father&#8217;s sin; he will surely live. 18But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.</div><div class="p"> 19&#8220;Yet you ask, &#8216;Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?&#8217; Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. 20The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.</div><div class="p"> 21&#8220;But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. 22None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. 23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?</div><div class="p"> 24&#8220;But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.</div><div class="p"> 25&#8220;Yet you say, &#8216;The way of the Lord is not just.&#8217; Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 26If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. 27But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. 28Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. 29Yet the Israelites say, &#8216;The way of the Lord is not just.&#8217; Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?</div><div class="p"> 30&#8220;Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="EZK.19">
 <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1">A Lament Over Israel&#8217;s Princes</div><div class="p"> 1&#8220;Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel 2and say:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;What a lioness was your mother</div><div class="q2">among the lions!</div><div class="q1">She lay down among them</div><div class="q2">and reared her cubs.</div><div class="q1"> 3She brought up one of her cubs,</div><div class="q2">and he became a strong lion.</div><div class="q1">He learned to tear the prey</div><div class="q2">and he became a man-eater.</div><div class="q1"> 4The nations heard about him,</div><div class="q2">and he was trapped in their pit.</div><div class="q1">They led him with hooks</div><div class="q2">to the land of Egypt.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 5&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;When she saw her hope unfulfilled,</div><div class="q2">her expectation gone,</div><div class="q1">she took another of her cubs</div><div class="q2">and made him a strong lion.</div><div class="q1"> 6He prowled among the lions,</div><div class="q2">for he was now a strong lion.</div><div class="q1">He learned to tear the prey</div><div class="q2">and he became a man-eater.</div><div class="q1"> 7He broke down#19:7 Targum (see Septuagint); Hebrew He knew their strongholds</div><div class="q2">and devastated their towns.</div><div class="q1">The land and all who were in it</div><div class="q2">were terrified by his roaring.</div><div class="q1"> 8Then the nations came against him,</div><div class="q2">those from regions round about.</div><div class="q1">They spread their net for him,</div><div class="q2">and he was trapped in their pit.</div><div class="q1"> 9With hooks they pulled him into a cage</div><div class="q2">and brought him to the king of Babylon.</div><div class="q1">They put him in prison,</div><div class="q2">so his roar was heard no longer</div><div class="q2">on the mountains of Israel.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 10&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard#19:10 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts your blood</div><div class="q2">planted by the water;</div><div class="q1">it was fruitful and full of branches</div><div class="q2">because of abundant water.</div><div class="q1"> 11Its branches were strong,</div><div class="q2">fit for a ruler&#8217;s scepter.</div><div class="q1">It towered high</div><div class="q2">above the thick foliage,</div><div class="q1">conspicuous for its height</div><div class="q2">and for its many branches.</div><div class="q1"> 12But it was uprooted in fury</div><div class="q2">and thrown to the ground.</div><div class="q1">The east wind made it shrivel,</div><div class="q2">it was stripped of its fruit;</div><div class="q1">its strong branches withered</div><div class="q2">and fire consumed them.</div><div class="q1"> 13Now it is planted in the desert,</div><div class="q2">in a dry and thirsty land.</div><div class="q1"> 14Fire spread from one of its main#19:14 Or from under its branches</div><div class="q2">and consumed its fruit.</div><div class="q1">No strong branch is left on it</div><div class="q2">fit for a ruler&#8217;s scepter.&#8217;</div><div class="m">&#8220;This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch20" data-usfm="EZK.20">
 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">Rebellious Israel Purged</div><div class="p"> 1In the seventh year, in the fifth month on the tenth day, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.</div><div class="p"> 2Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3&#8220;Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 4&#8220;Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors 5and say to them: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, &#8220;I am the Lord your God.&#8221; 6On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. 7And I said to them, &#8220;Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt. 9But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites. 10Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live. 12Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws&#8212;by which the person who obeys them will live&#8212;and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the wilderness. 14But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 15Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them&#8212;a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands&#8212; 16because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols. 17Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or put an end to them in the wilderness. 18I said to their children in the wilderness, &#8220;Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols. 19I am the Lord your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 20Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws, of which I said, &#8220;The person who obeys them will live by them,&#8221; and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries, 24because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents&#8217; idols. 25So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live; 26I defiled them through their gifts&#8212;the sacrifice of every firstborn&#8212;that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 27&#8220;Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me: 28When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings. 29Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; (It is called Bamah#20:29 Bamah means high place. to this day.)</div><div class="s1">Rebellious Israel Renewed</div><div class="p"> 30&#8220;Therefore say to the Israelites: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? 31When you offer your gifts&#8212;the sacrifice of your children in the fire&#8212;you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.</div><div class="p"> 32&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;You say, &#8220;We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.&#8221; But what you have in mind will never happen. 33As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. 34I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered&#8212;with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. 35I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you. 36As I judged your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord. 37I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 39&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;As for you, people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols. 40For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord, there in the land all the people of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts,#20:40 Or and the gifts of your firstfruits along with all your holy sacrifices. 41I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be proved holy through you in the sight of the nations. 42Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I had sworn with uplifted hand to give to your ancestors. 43There you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done. 44You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name&#8217;s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Prophecy Against the South</div><div class="p"> 45The word of the Lord came to me: 46&#8220;Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest of the southland. 47Say to the southern forest: &#8216;Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it. 48Everyone will see that I the Lord have kindled it; it will not be quenched.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 49Then I said, &#8220;Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me, &#8216;Isn&#8217;t he just telling parables?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;#20:49 In Hebrew texts 20:45-49 is numbered 21:1-5.</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="EZK.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">Babylon as God&#8217;s Sword of Judgment</div><div class="p"> # In Hebrew texts 21:1-32 is numbered 21:6-37. 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3and say to her: &#8216;This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. 7And when they ask you, &#8216;Why are you groaning?&#8217; you shall say, &#8216;Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.&#8217; It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8The word of the Lord came to me: 9&#8220;Son of man, prophesy and say, &#8216;This is what the Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;A sword, a sword,</div><div class="q2">sharpened and polished&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 10sharpened for the slaughter,</div><div class="q2">polished to flash like lightning!</div><div class="p">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.</div><div class="q1"> 11&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The sword is appointed to be polished,</div><div class="q2">to be grasped with the hand;</div><div class="q1">it is sharpened and polished,</div><div class="q2">made ready for the hand of the slayer.</div><div class="q1"> 12Cry out and wail, son of man,</div><div class="q2">for it is against my people;</div><div class="q2">it is against all the princes of Israel.</div><div class="q1">They are thrown to the sword</div><div class="q2">along with my people.</div><div class="q1">Therefore beat your breast.</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8217;</div><div class="q1"> 14&#8220;So then, son of man, prophesy</div><div class="q2">and strike your hands together.</div><div class="q1">Let the sword strike twice,</div><div class="q2">even three times.</div><div class="q1">It is a sword for slaughter&#8212;</div><div class="q2">a sword for great slaughter,</div><div class="q2">closing in on them from every side.</div><div class="q1"> 15So that hearts may melt with fear</div><div class="q2">and the fallen be many,</div><div class="q1">I have stationed the sword for slaughter#21:15 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</div><div class="q2">at all their gates.</div><div class="q1">Look! It is forged to strike like lightning,</div><div class="q2">it is grasped for slaughter.</div><div class="q1"> 16Slash to the right, you sword,</div><div class="q2">then to the left,</div><div class="q2">wherever your blade is turned.</div><div class="q1"> 17I too will strike my hands together,</div><div class="q2">and my wrath will subside.</div><div class="q1">I the Lord have spoken.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18The word of the Lord came to me: 19&#8220;Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city. 20Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. 22Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. 23It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.</div><div class="p"> 24&#8220;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: &#8216;Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do&#8212;because you have done this, you will be taken captive.</div><div class="p"> 25&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, 26this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low. 27A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 28&#8220;And you, son of man, prophesy and say, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites and their insults:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;A sword, a sword,</div><div class="q2">drawn for the slaughter,</div><div class="q1">polished to consume</div><div class="q2">and to flash like lightning!</div><div class="q1"> 29Despite false visions concerning you</div><div class="q2">and lying divinations about you,</div><div class="q1">it will be laid on the necks</div><div class="q2">of the wicked who are to be slain,</div><div class="q1">whose day has come,</div><div class="q2">whose time of punishment has reached its climax.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 30&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Let the sword return to its sheath.</div><div class="q2">In the place where you were created,</div><div class="q1">in the land of your ancestry,</div><div class="q2">I will judge you.</div><div class="q1"> 31I will pour out my wrath on you</div><div class="q2">and breathe out my fiery anger against you;</div><div class="q1">I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,</div><div class="q2">men skilled in destruction.</div><div class="q1"> 32You will be fuel for the fire,</div><div class="q2">your blood will be shed in your land,</div><div class="q1">you will be remembered no more;</div><div class="q2">for I the Lord have spoken.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch22" data-usfm="EZK.22">
 <div class="label">22</div><div class="s1">Judgment on Jerusalem&#8217;s Sins</div><div class="p"> 1The word of the Lord came to me:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 2&#8220;Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices 3and say: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, 4you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries. 5Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood. 7In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow. 8You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. 9In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. 10In you are those who dishonor their father&#8217;s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. 11In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor&#8217;s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father&#8217;s daughter. 12In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord.</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst. 14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. 15I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness. 16When you have been defiled#22:16 Or When I have allotted you your inheritance in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Then the word of the Lord came to me: 18&#8220;Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver. 19Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: &#8216;Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem. 20As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you. 21I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her. 22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath on you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Again the word of the Lord came to me: 24&#8220;Son of man, say to the land, &#8216;You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.&#8217; 25There is a conspiracy of her princes#22:25 Septuagint; Hebrew prophets within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says&#8217;&#8212;when the Lord has not spoken. 29The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice.</div><div class="p"> 30&#8220;I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 31So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="EZK.23">
 <div class="label">23</div><div class="s1">Two Adulterous Sisters</div><div class="p"> 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. 3They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. 4The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians&#8212;warriors 6clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. 7She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after. 8She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. 10They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her.</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister. 12She too lusted after the Assyrians&#8212;governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men. 13I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeans#23:14 Or Babylonians portrayed in red, 15with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.#23:15 Or Babylonia; also in verse 16 16As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. 18When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. 19Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. 21So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.#23:21 Syriac (see also verse 3); Hebrew caressed because of your young breasts</div><div class="p"> 22&#8220;Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side&#8212; 23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses. 24They will come against you with weapons,#23:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. chariots and wagons and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment, and they will punish you according to their standards. 25I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters, and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire. 26They will also strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry. 27So I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.</div><div class="p"> 28&#8220;For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to deliver you into the hands of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. 29They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you stark naked, and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your lewdness and promiscuity 30have brought this on you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. 31You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup into your hand.</div><div class="p"> 32&#8220;This is what the Sovereign Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;You will drink your sister&#8217;s cup,</div><div class="q2">a cup large and deep;</div><div class="q1">it will bring scorn and derision,</div><div class="q2">for it holds so much.</div><div class="q1"> 33You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,</div><div class="q2">the cup of ruin and desolation,</div><div class="q2">the cup of your sister Samaria.</div><div class="q1"> 34You will drink it and drain it dry</div><div class="q2">and chew on its pieces&#8212;</div><div class="q2">and you will tear your breasts.</div><div class="m">I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 35&#8220;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36The Lord said to me: &#8220;Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices, 37for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them. 38They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths. 39On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.</div><div class="p"> 40&#8220;They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup and put on your jewelry. 41You sat on an elegant couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and olive oil that belonged to me.</div><div class="p"> 42&#8220;The noise of a carefree crowd was around her; drunkards were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets on the wrists of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, &#8216;Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is.&#8217; 44And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah. 45But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood, because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.</div><div class="p"> 46&#8220;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder. 47The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.</div><div class="p"> 48&#8220;So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you. 49You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEZK">
 <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="EZK.24">
 <div class="label">24</div><div class="s1">Jerusalem as a Cooking Pot</div><div class="p"> 1In the ninth year, in the tenth month on the tenth day, the word of the Lord came to me: 2&#8220;Son of man, record this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Put on the cooking pot; put it on</div><div class="q2">and pour water into it.</div><div class="q1"> 4Put into it the pieces of meat,</div><div class="q2">all the choice pieces&#8212;the leg and the shoulder.</div><div class="q1">Fill it with the best of these bones;</div><div class="q2"> 5take the pick of the flock.</div><div class="q1">Pile wood beneath it for the bones;</div><div class="q2">bring it to a boil</div><div class="q2">and cook the bones in it.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="m"> 6&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Woe to the city of bloodshed,</div><div class="q2">to the pot now encrusted,</div><div class="q2">whose deposit will not go away!</div><div class="q1">Take the meat out piece by piece</div><div class="q2">in whatever order it comes.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 7&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;For the blood she shed is in her midst:</div><div class="q2">She poured it on the bare rock;</div><div class="q1">she did not pour it on the ground,</div><div class="q2">where the dust would cover it.</div><div class="q1"> 8To stir up wrath and take revenge</div><div class="q2">I put her blood on the bare rock,</div><div class="q2">so that it would not be covered.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="m"> 9&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Woe to the city of bloodshed!</div><div class="q2">I, too, will pile the wood high.</div><div class="q1"> 10So heap on the wood</div><div class="q2">and kindle the fire.</div><div class="q1">Cook the meat well,</div><div class="q2">mixing in the spices;</div><div class="q2">and let the bones be charred.</div><div class="q1"> 11Then set the empty pot on the coals</div><div class="q2">till it becomes hot and its copper glows,</div><div class="q1">so that its impurities may be melted</div><div class="q2">and its deposit burned away.</div><div class="q1"> 12It has frustrated all efforts;</div><div class="q2">its heavy deposit has not been removed,</div><div class="q2">not even by fire.</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I the Lord have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions, declares the Sovereign Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Ezekiel&#8217;s Wife Dies</div><div class="p"> 15The word of the Lord came to me: 16&#8220;Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. 17Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.</div><div class="p"> 19Then the people asked me, &#8220;Won&#8217;t you tell us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20So I said to them, &#8220;The word of the Lord came to me: 21Say to the people of Israel, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary&#8212;the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. 22And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. 23You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of#24:23 Or away in your sins and groan among yourselves. 24Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 25&#8220;And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart&#8217;s desire, and their sons and daughters as well&#8212; 26on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. 27At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.&#8221;</div>
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